How are Canada’s Humanitarian Policies Supporting Rohingya Sexual Violence Survivors?: Reflections of Canadian Government and NGO Workers

Canada introduced the Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) in 2017 to support and empower women and girls affected by violent conflicts worldwide. Canada’s feminist approach to humanitarian engagement is a commitment to addressing sexual gender-based violence, one of the most severe and pervasive forms of human rights violations during conflicts, through advocacy and financial investment. Following Myanmar’s brutal persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in August 2017, Canada, like many other countries, provided humanitarian relief. In 2018, Canada introduced the first Rohingya Response Strategy for Myanmar and Bangladesh, committing C$300 million to international assistance until 2021. The Canadian government renewed the strategy for a second time in 2021 until 2024, committing an additional C$288.3 million. Canada’s humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya in Bangladesh has provided life-saving services, including food, shelter, sexual and reproductive health services, and psychological support for women and girls who experienced sexual violence at the hands of the Myanmar military. To meet the long-term needs of the Rohingya in Bangladesh, the Canadian government has also supported education and skill-building projects. My research builds on the central question: How is Canada supporting the needs of Rohingya sexual violence survivors through its humanitarian assistance programming in Bangladesh? I use gender mainstreaming as a theoretical framework and use thematic analysis to analyze the qualitative data collected from interviews with key informants. I triangulate them with the existing literature to answer my research question. My findings indicate that for its humanitarian programming to support Rohingya sexual violence survivors effectively, Canada needs to go beyond the “one-size-fits-all” approach. To do so, the Canadian government must consider the context-specific needs of women and girls. My findings also indicate that Canada needs to start advocating for the needs of male sexual violence survivors, who are often overlooked in global humanitarian response. My findings reinforce that Canada needs to integrate the expertise of grassroots organizations and the voices of women and girls to ensure a more inclusive, efficient, and sustainable response to the Rohingya crisis. My findings are expected to lead to a broader conversation within the Canadian government to design policies that contribute to long-term and sustainable solutions to address the needs of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence globally.